According to national unemployment statistics as of April 20, 9.2 percent of Americans remain without jobs, but some businesses are inadvertently keeping this number right where it is. Legally, employers are allowed to disregard potential job candidates who are unemployed except in New Jersey, where the governor enacted an anti-discrimination law Monday. The state has certainly set a precedent for much of the rest of the country where the rights of the unemployed continued to be ignored.
Although the economic recession is improving in the United States, people all over the country continue to experience its fallout. People who were once considered qualified, viable workers lost their jobs simply due to economic forces out of their control. The term “unemployed” can no longer be attributed to an already inaccurate stereotype, now referring to a broad spectrum workers. Businesses that strictly advertise job openings for only employed candidates are not only discriminatory but also working in their own disinterest by eliminating a pool of potentially capable people from the get-go.
Understandably, businesses don’t want to take a gamble on job-hunters. But the fact that this discrimination still exists and is legally permissible points to a systematic misunderstanding of many who are now unemployed. That shouldn’t be allowed to continue. People should be hired based on their immediate qualifications and job history outside the context of an economic disaster. State governments should be obligated to step in and take a direct approach to these problems that employers continue to create for workers.
While the New Jersey law will ensure that employers pay $1,000 for every first offense and $5,000 for additional offenses, a step in the right direction, it’s conceivable that many establishments will continue to “play it safe” and hire those who have managed to stay afloat in tough times. But a slap on the wrist is better than no slap at all. If employers are motivated to stop discriminating, they could have a real impact on the unemployment rate.
The Fair Employment Act of 2011, introduced to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce in early April, still has a long way to go – and a lot of support to amass – before it gets out of committee and onto the floor in Congress. But the unemployed population merits federal support, especially if states don’t step up to the plate.
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